The two, one of them a galactic god, and the other a long-dead Namekian mystic, made a curious, Abbott-and-Costello-like pair as they strolled beneath the patient starlight. For Kaio-sama was short and round and Kattatsu was tall, wispy, even threatened, in one were fanciful enough to see it, by the occasional tugging force of an odd breeze which came in over the tops of the great waterfalls that surrounded on all sides the island where, tomorrow, the tournament would resume. The trail they took, curated to be soft and natural by the devoted effort of a seemingly always-absent group of groundskeepers, led them betwixt such trees as looked like miniatures of those Kattatsu might have found on his homeworld, had he been permitted to return there.
For a time there was a silence between them. It was not exactly companionable; Kaio-sama had not yet made one bad joke, or thought to make one; but it bound them as a representation of a mutual unease. And that was something. It was Kattatsu who spoke first.
"My Lord," he said, "I must say something. As you know, I am also a participant in the tournament. It is true that my overarching goal in coming here was to protect Piccolo."
Kaio looked over at him with a 'yes - but?' expression.
Kattatsu was not one to mince words. "But, I am also not opposed to taking first place in this tournament."
"What?" Kaio was taken aback. "But you know that I want to win! My fighters have been training for months for this!"
"Yes," said Kattatsu carefully, "And they have represented well the ingenuity and rigor of Earth and of the Northern Galaxy. But ... you must admit, with Piccolo having dropped out, Tenshinhan missing, and Yamcha defeated, your chances do not look as good as once they did. Do you really expect it will be little Chiaoutzu that stands in the winner's circle, when all is said and done?"
Kaio was flustered. "I don't know!" His sunglasses, even in the darkness, glinted up at Kattatsu's hooded visage with annoyance. "And here I thought it was so strange that you didn't throw the fight to Yamcha! Just what do you expect to get out of winning anyway? You aren't even fighting for one of the Kaios! There'll be no one to brag you up if you win! Don't you see that's the whole point of these things?!"
Kattatsu shook his head. "It isn't the point to me. I am quite dead," he said, and Kaio's gaze drifted past him, to the steady circle of light which hovered over his head. "I shall remain dead. For it is not the way of a Namekian to go against the decree of Fate. However, it is said that the winner of this tournament receives more than glory, or ... bragging rights, as you say." Kaio flushed. "A tournament organized by the gods, for the glory of the gods. It can offer a prize worthy of the gods, yes?" Kattatsu's eyes glowed out of the cover of his silver cowl, and Kaio-sama saw in them, for the first time, something of the boundless ambition which the god of Earth, Kami, had once been expected to purge on his way to divinity.
"Just what are you saying? That you want to become ... a god?"
"No," said Kattatsu. "Nothing like that. What I want is a special technique. It is practiced on Yardrat. Maybe you have heard of it. It is called the instantaneous movement. With this technique, a body can transport itself between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead. What I want is to use the technique to visit Planet Namek from time to time, to check up on things there. Especially lately, I have felt a strange sense of dread whenever I have thought upon my home world. It seems to me that something terrible is about to happen there."
Kaio studied him for a moment, and, behind his sunglasses, and behind the eyes behind those, some of his secret knowledge which he shared only with other gods came to the fore, and he nearly confirmed Kattatsu's suspicions. But he thought better of it, and pressed on with the expected tack of lordly admonishment: "I do know of the technique, but I think you are letting your ambition cloud your judgment here, Kattatsu. Even if it were possible for one of the Kaios to grant you such an outlandish ability for winning this tournament, you seem to have forgotten all about Garlic! If he has his way, none of what you are saying will make a bit of difference!"
"He isn't going to get his way," said Kattatsu, with a confidence that reminded Kaio-sama of the devilish son.
"How can you be so sure?" The light of the stars flashed in the god's trademark glasses.
"Because I've sent my strongest son to kick him all the way back to the Dead Zone."
-(Like father, like son; like son, like father.)-
The taste of the senzu bean lingered in Piccolo's mouth. It had a different sort of taste. He hadn't thought at the time how Kattatsu had managed to get ahold of one of Korin's super special beans, when that man had never been to planet Earth. But as night weaned away toward morning, and his strength had returned - not all at once, but in nourishing installments - he thought that perhaps even Korin had a father somewhere, a bean farmer on some distant cat's world, who grew them his own way. Which was maybe why this bean tasted different than any other he had eaten before.
According to Kattatsu, whose information, he was discovering, was never to be doubted, Garlic and his henchmen were hiding out in a cave system somewhere on the planet. Piccolo was flying through the air at high speed, scanning the vast forested worldscape, and keeping his precise ears open for disturbances, and his inner-senses honed to detect strange energy signals coming from beneath the canopy. The sun was beginning to rise, and soon the morning bell would ring (magically, it could be heard anywhere on the planet) and that would commence the second wave of the tournament leading toward the third day of semi-finals. He supposed, even though his father had said that Garlic would wait until "the perfect moment," that the attack would come this day. He was counting on his enemies anticipating surprising him in the middle of a fight, after having ambushed him the day before. He would surprise them instead.
Piccolo never saw the cave. Instead, he found it with his other senses: first, he actually smelled it; this surprised him; but he smelled the chthonic earth-musk, dark and self-turning, and so out of place on this world of enchanted martial artistry. Once his nose was engaged, the rest of his senses, except for his eyes, were drawn down toward the source: and he heard with his exceptional hearing the yawning of its opening, and far back in its throat the drip, drip, dripping of stalagtites. Garlic, he thought. I can almost taste you. The Namekian began to lower toward the ground, his cape billowing into the air behind him as he led with his left foot, as he had done so many times.
He landed in a small clearing, and, turning partway, saw that there was a little creek running through the earth behind him. Up ahead the trees began, but then ended again as they peeled away to reveal a great cave-mouth. It reminded Piccolo of a huge koi fish.
He fanned out his senses again, this time focusing on the cave, penetrating into it. He even thought of staying until he had discovered every form of life within the cave. It would be nice to meditate here. But there was not enough time ... Garlic or one of his men could ambush him. He decided on a more direct approach.
"Garlic!" The sound of his own voice was bestranging. But it was strong. "Come out of the dark and face me!"
Piccolo waited, and the forest around him grew quiet and still. But nothing happened.
"Come on out here!"
-(Alone in the dark.)-
Tenshinhan was just barely alive. Around him, the darkness of the cave was thick, but oddly it was pierced through with streams of light which he could make out as anti-silhouettes through the fabric of the bandage over his eyes. Besides, whoever had been tasked with restraining him had forgotten to cover his third eye. But the third eye was reacting strangely to his surroundings. It was made to view the celestial or hidden aspects of reality. In the cave, it seemed, there were forces from both. The long mundanity of the cave was its true illusion. But his mouth was firmly gagged and Tenshinhan could speak no truth.
In the woods outside of the cave system, Piccolo discarded his turban and weighted armor. They crashed into the sandy ground at his feet. "Alright then. I'm coming in!"
Tenshinhan thought he heard something. A distant cry? But he could sense no energy, not even the energy signatures of the lackies who had carried him in here. And he did not sense Garlic; he did not know what it was like to 'smell' Garlic. He opened his third eye and strained into the foggy air. There was indeed an odd mist permeating the cavern, floating down from unseen places. In the body of the clouds of mist which broke away from the main source, the odd light was trapped and seemed to bounce around like restless particles. His third eye struggled with it: was this a symbol for something else? Was something more profound happening? Ten found himself resenting the spiritual sleuth; he pulled hard at the ropes which bound his wrists behind his back, but it was to no avail. Oh, to be able to see with mundane eyes for once!
Piccolo plunged into the mouth of the cave, not even running, but flying a couple of inches from the ground, carrying himself with rapid speed and an unwise but effective confidence into the darkness. He was not afraid of Garlic or his henchmen. He would not show them any mercy. He would not need to hold back. Under the cover of darkness he would rip them limb from limb. After all, he had already avoided Hell!
After passing through a narrow tunnel which seemed like a great crack in the earth, Piccolo came into a great room whose vastness stupefied him. The walls of the cave curved upward to a bright spot in the ceiling, like an unopened lotus flower. For a moment Piccolo had a terrifying waking dream, of the cave unfolding like such a flower, and the light of heaven searing in and scorching him to death.
Tenshinhan suddenly heard a terrible, derisive laugh. It was coming from very close, and it was slightly above him. Deciding to tap into the hidden wellspring of strength he had been saving, and expecting to fight for his life, the three-eyed warrior got to his feet, standing proudly despite his condition. The person who had laughed laughed again, more fully, with all the arrogance of a villain who is completely concealed.
"Feeling strong, are we?" The voice was deep, almost a growl. There was something unhinged about it that would have made the hair stand up on Tenshinhan's head.
"I've felt better," said Ten. Then, after a beat: "I don't suppose you're here to rescue me."
"Mhmhmhm. No. You know better than that. You're my bait. My bait and switch."
"Bait and switch? What are you talking about?"
"Your friends are looking for you. But, of course, they won't find you. Not until it's too late and you're trapped inside the Dead Zone ... forever."
Piccolo floated into the air. The curved top of the cave, like the inside of a man-made dome, had to be one hundred feet above him. He hovered noiselessly in the silvery air and looked out over the expanse below. There was something special about this room. It had a central platform, made of stone, but obviously carved. In fact, it was meticulously carved. On the far side of it there was a staircase that lead down, and then up again, which lead up to a small altar near the far wall of the cave. The little sequence of stone, platform and altar, were touched here and there with rays of sunlight which fell from the opening in the ceiling. Piccolo could see, passing in and out of the rays, what looked like fluttering butterflies or lonesome moths.
Suddenly, he saw someone: a small figure far below, standing at the center of the stone platform, with a most dejected post. It couldn't be...
"Chiaoutzu?!"
The little prince looked up at Piccolo with tear-drowned eyes. "Tenshinhan ... isn't here. I've looked everywhere. He's not here. He's gone!"
And a long-awaited chapter 9 appears at last! I promise to be quick about getting the next one up. I hope everyone is enjoying the story, and as always, please write your thoughts! I love hearing from you!